| How to Travel to Europe Cheaply Posted: 13 Apr 2019 01:00 AM PDT Europe is filled with many countries and cultures that you can immerse yourself in while you're there. While it may seem like a daunting and expensive trip, a European vacation doesn't have to break the bank. By planning affordable travel and accommodations, you can easily manage your money while abroad. Once you're there, you'll be able to sight-see, try new foods, and meet new people on a budget! EditFinding Affordable Overseas Flights - Book your flight 3-6 weeks in advance of your trip. Flight prices tend to get more expensive closer to the date that you plan on leaving. Start looking for flights about 2 months before you depart to get the lowest prices for air travel. Continue checking prices for the next few weeks to see if the price changes.[1]
- Track flight prices on Google Flights to see when tickets are cheaper or more expensive. Turn on notifications for the days you plan on traveling to get alerts when prices change.
- Use a low-cost airline to save money. Before reserving seats on an airline you're familiar with, check smaller airlines for more competitive prices. Budget airlines like Primera Air, Wow Air, and Norwegian Air offer one-way flights across the Atlantic Ocean for as low as $99 USD.[2]
- Read the airline's terms and conditions before purchasing tickets since they may have hidden fees for items such as carry-on bags or checked luggage.
- In the United States, airline prices may be cheaper if you fly out of an international hub airport, such as O'Hare in Chicago, New York City, or Boston.
- Fly into a small city nearby if you want to travel to a popular location. Flying directly to the city you want to visit may be more expensive than a flight to somewhere nearby. Compare prices for taking a direct flight to the area you want to visit as opposed to a smaller city in a different country. That way, you can easily travel by train or smaller airlines for much cheaper.[3]
- For example, if you wanted to visit London, you may fly into Dublin instead for a cheaper flight and then travel to London from there.
EditStaying in Cheap Accomodations - Look for hostels if you're comfortable sharing a room. Hostels are residences where you can share a room with other people. Many hostels run at a fraction of the price of hotels so they're more affordable for you to stay in. Plan on spending between about $20-$40 USD per night if you end up staying in a hostel.[4]
- Depending on the hostel, a private room could be an option, but it may be more expensive than a shared space.
- Search for short-term home rentals to save money if you have a large group. Use a rental app, such as Airbnb or Homestay, to find private homes or apartments to rent for your stay. Many homes offer cheaper accommodations per person if you have a group of 4 or more. That way, you'll also have access to a kitchen, a private bathroom, and a comfortable place to relax when you're done traveling for the day.[5]
- Talk to your host about local restaurants to try or recommendations for what to do while you're visiting.
- Use a couch-surfing website to stay with locals in the area for free. Websites like CouchSurfing list homeowners that are willing to let travelers stay on a couch or in a spare bedroom for little or no cost. Reach out to the homeowner online and start talking about your trip to see if you could stay. When you arrive, make sure to be friendly and hold conversations with the owner so you can get to know what local life is like in the city.[6]
- Couchsurfing doesn't work well if you're traveling with a large group or if you want privacy.
- Try camping if you want to stay in an outdoor area. Even if you're visiting a larger city, you can find a campsite to stay at overnight. Many of the camping areas have bathrooms and cooking areas that you can use while you're there. Check online for campgrounds to see if there are any sites available near your planned destination.[7]
EditGetting around Europe - Get a rail pass to travel between locations in Europe easily. The train is one of the fastest ways to get from place to place in Europe. Look for an unlimited rail pass so you can travel by train as much as you want and arrive at destinations quickly. Many trains come with wi-fi, food and drink, and charging stations for electronics.[8]
- Major cities may have their own metro and subway systems that require a different ticket than the main European railways. You can usually buy 3-day or 7-day passes for local metros if you plan on staying in the city more than 1 night.
- Buy tourist passes for public transportation if they're available. Some cities offer packages just for tourists that give you free public transportation within city limits as well as admittance to many attractions there. Locate the tourist center in the city you're visiting if it has one, and see what's available for you.[9]
- For example, a pass in Berlin gets you free entry to over 60 attractions, sightseeing tours, and a card for unlimited travel.
- Try flying on budget airlines between major cities to travel quickly. Companies like EasyJet and RyanAir offer cheap continental flights between cities in Europe. After booking your main flight to Europe, look for other connecting flights to cities you want to visit. Many of the flights are around $20-30 USD, but may be more expensive depending on how far you fly.[10]
- Walk as much as you can to travel around a city for free. If you don't want to spend much money to get around, try walking around the city to immerse yourself in the culture even more. Explore the city you're visiting on foot to find places you might not have seen from a car. Take the time to stop and relax throughout the day in a park or public area.[11]
- Make sure to pack comfortable shoes so your feet don't hurt after a long day.
- Bring an empty water bottle with you to fill up in sinks or public fountains.
EditExperiencing Europe on a Budget - Pick a few must-see spots to plan a budget for them. If there are a few locations that you know you want to visit, make room in your budget to go. Choose 1-2 things you know you want to do and schedule them to make the most of your time. Look up admission prices online so you know how much to set aside during your visit.[12]
- Check websites like Groupon to see if there are any deals you can get on the attractions you want to see.
- Search for how far your accommodations are from your must-see places and include traveling there in your budget if needed.
- Take advantage of free walking tours to see the city you're visiting. Many cities have tours guides that will show you the main areas of the city. Follow the tour guide and listen to learn history and important information about your location. As you go on the tour, you can choose to leave at any time if you lose interest.[13]
- Many walking tour guides only get paid in tips, so make sure to give them some money if you enjoyed the tour.
- Get food from restaurants away from tourist sites to save money. Watch where locals are eating and go to those vendors or restaurants instead of touristy locations in the city. Travel a few blocks away from main tourist areas to find restaurants in your budget. Many times, you'll find food that's cheaper and more authentic to the region.[14]
- If your accommodations have a cooking area, buy groceries and cook for a meal or two each day to save more money.
- Visit street vendors to try new foods without spending money on a full meal.
- Avoid buying souvenirs if you don't need them. Souvenirs can get pricey and they can take up a lot of room in your luggage. If you see something you want, ask yourself if it's something that you need and can't purchase anywhere else. Instead of buying the souvenir, take pictures to capture experiences that you'll remember more than a keepsake.[15]
- If the souvenir is something that you must have, then purchase it. Just make sure it's easy to transport.
- Make sure your passport is current before you start planning your vacation since it could take up to 8 weeks for you to receive it.
- Check reviews for hostels and home locations online before booking them to make sure they are legitimate and trustworthy.
EditRelated wikiHows EditReferences EditQuick Summary
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| How to Hang a Bird House Posted: 12 Apr 2019 05:00 PM PDT For bird lovers across the world, birdhouses are a great way to give birds a safe place to lay their eggs and rear their young. A well-located birdhouse also lets you keep an eye on the parent birds as they feed the young, and you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the fledglings! When you hang a birdhouse, aim to keep the birds safe from predators and to situate the birdhouse at an angle you can easily observe. Purchase a birdhouse from a local hardware store, or pick up a few supplies and make your own. EditChoosing a Mounting Structure - Mount the birdhouse on a metal pole for complete protection. No predator on the planet will be able to climb up a metal pole and eat the eggs out of the birdhouse. So, situating the birdhouse at the top of a metal pole (which you can purchase at a hardware or home-improvement store) will keep the birds safe.[1]
- Mounting the birdhouse on a metal pole gives an additional benefit. Since you can drive the pole wherever you like in your front- or backyard, you have complete control over the birdhouse's location.
- Place the birdhouse on a brick surface if one is near your home. If you have brick siding on your home or, for example, an old brick wall nearby, try hanging the birdhouse on this surface. Brick is difficult for predators to climb up since it's quite hard and resistant to their claws. Unless the brick wall is lower than , birds will be safe in a house mounted on brick.[2]
- In most cases, you can drive nails directly into brick without causing structural harm.
- Hang the birdhouse on smooth wooden siding for a convenient option. If you don't have any brick surfaces near your home and prefer to keep things simple, hang the birdhouse on a section of smooth siding on your home or a shed. Predators like skunks or weasels won't be able to scamper up the siding, and the birds and their eggs will be safe.[3]
- A downside to this approach is that it may be difficult to see the birds if the birdhouse is hung on a wall with no windows nearby.
- Locate a birdhouse with a small entrance hole on a fence post. Unless they are very smooth, fence posts are relatively easy for lightweight predators to climb up. However, you can work around this problem by only hanging birdhouses with an entrance hole smaller than in diameter on fence posts. Even the smallest of predators will find it challenging to slip through this small of a hole.[4]
- Be aware that this size of hole will also prevent larger birds from building a nest in the birdhouse. Smaller birds like nuthatches and chickadees will have no problem fitting in the hole, though.
- This may be a good option if you live in a rural area with many fences, or if you don't have any wooden siding or brick walls near your home.
- Situate the birdhouse on a tree if you have no other options. Driving long nails or screws into a living tree can cause serious damage, so avoid hanging a birdhouse on a tree if other options are available. If you have no other choices, use as few screws as possible to hang the birdhouse. Find a tree with a diameter larger than , and remember to dispose of the screws if you decide to take down the birdhouse.[5]
- While hanging a birdhouse on a tree will damage the tree, it will still provide a safer nesting location for birds than if they had to make do with a natural nesting location.
EditPositioning the Birdhouse - Hang the birdhouse between above the ground. If the birdhouse is mounted too low, it may be vulnerable to predators; too high, and many species of bird won't want to live in it. Mounting the house high will attract a number of bird species, and also allow you to watch the birds without having to strain your neck.[6]
- Smaller birds often favor lower nests. For example, if you're hoping to have wrens, chickadees, or nuthatches nest in your birdhouse, hang the house at exactly .
- Situate your birdhouse so it faces east to keep it warm. In nearly all climates, having your birdhouse face east is best for the birds. If you don't know which direction is east where you live, use a compass to find out. If facing the birdhouse east isn't a possibility due to the location of your house or yard, facing the birdhouse to the south is the second-best option since south-facing birdhouses will receive more sunlight than houses that face north.[7]
- An east-facing birdhouse will catch the first rays of morning sun, warming the birds after a chilly night. Hot afternoon rays of sun coming from the west will hit the closed back of the birdhouse and not overheat the birds.
- Point the birdhouse's entrance so it faces a food source for fledglings. When the birds' eggs hatch and the young emerge from the nest, they'll need to find food. So, point the front of the birdhouse towards an open area that borders on bushes, shrubs, and trees where the young birds can find food.[8]
- Ideally, potential food sources should be less than away from the birdhouse.
- Locate the birdhouse away from bird feeders and baths. Bird feeders and bird baths both tend to draw in predators, which quickly learn that the congregated birds make a great food source. To protect the bird eggs and fledglings from predators (e.g., gray squirrels), do not hang a birdhouse near feeders or bird baths.[9] Hang birdhouses at least away from feeders or baths.
- It's possible to have both a bird feeder or bath and a birdhouse, as long as you're smart about where you locate them. For example, try setting the feeder on your front porch and hanging the birdhouse on a tree in your backyard.
- Space multiple birdhouses out by at least . While some bird species don't mind having multiple nests close together, other species will refuse to use a birdhouse if it's too near another nest. To avoid this problem, hang multiple birdhouses about away from one another.[10]
- To achieve this, try to hang the houses on multiple types of surfaces. For example, hang 1 on a pole in your front yard, 2 more on opposite sides of your home, and a final 1 on a brick wall in your backyard.
EditMounting Against Flat Surfaces - Mark 2 spots at the center of the birdhouse's extended back wall. Most birdhouses—whether purchased or made—have a back wall that measures above and below the birdhouse. To mount the house, you'll drive screws through this and into the surface you're hanging the house on. Use a ruler to measure the width of the back wall and mark the halfway point.[11]
- So, if the back wall of the birdhouse measures across, mark a small "X" at the mark on the top of the extended back. Repeat the process and mark another "X" on the bottom of the extended back.
- Position the birdhouse against the surface where you'd like to hang it. Walk out into your yard and hold the birdhouse against the wooden siding, brick wall, or other surface where you'd like to hang it. Look behind the "X" markings to make sure there aren't any metal bits or stones that could damage your screws.
- It's fine to hang the birdhouse on a dead tree using large screws, as long as the tree is relatively sturdy and not rotten.
- Screw the tips of screws into the 2 "X" marks. Position the tip of 1 screw at each of the pencil markings. Tap the head of each screw 2–3 times with a hammer to set the point in place. Then, give each screw 6–10 turns with a Philips head screwdriver to bury the tip in the wood.[12]
- Since it's difficult to hold the birdhouse with 1 hand and set the screws in place with the other, ask a friend or family member to help you with this step.
- Drive the screws in using a power drill with a Philips head attachment. Set the head of the attachment in the slot of the screws to tighten them. Make sure to hold the drill level and drive the screws straight into the backing. Tighten the screws until the screw heads are flush with the wood of the birdhouse backing to keep the birdhouse firmly in place.[13]
- Although you'll have to remove the 2 screws if you want to take down or clean the birdhouse, the screws will hold the structure firmly in place.
EditMounting on a Pole - Purchase a screw-on birdhouse and a diameter pole. It's best to purchase this type of birdhouse rather than making it. The house should have a diameter threaded hole in its bottom so it can screw on top of the pole. Purchase a pole that's at least tall and that has an auger at the bottom to make it easier to drive deep into the soil of your yard.[14]
- You can find these items at a large hardware store, a home-improvement store, or a bird-supply shop.
- An auger is a large metal screw (it looks like a huge corkscrew) that comes out of the bottom of the metal pole. Augers are typically long.
- If you can't find a pole with an auger already attached, purchase the auger separately and insert the base of the pole into the top of the auger.
- Twist the pole clockwise to drive the pole and auger into the ground. Select a location in your front or back yard that's easily visible from 1 or more windows. Set the point of the auger in the ground. Then, twist the pole clockwise to drive it into the ground as deep as the auger is long. If the pole has 3 or 4 "legs" that will stabilize it once it's in the ground, you can hold on to these to give yourself more leverage as you twist.[15]
- If you have a metal pole without an auger attached, you can just drive it into the ground. However, it will be a more wobbly setup than if you'd used an auger.
- Turn the birdhouse clockwise to screw the birdhouse onto the pole. Once the pole is firmly in place, it's time to set the birdhouse on top. Line the hole on the bottom of the house up with the top of the pole. Make sure the house is balanced, and slowly turn the birdhouse clockwise until it's tightly in place on top of the pole.[16]
- If you'd like to adjust the direction that the birdhouse is facing after it's screwed onto the top of the pole, you should be able to turn the pole clockwise or counterclockwise in the ground.
- Whenever you want to clean the birdhouse, you simply need to turn it counterclockwise to loosen the threads and unscrew the house.
EditThings You'll Need EditMounting Against Flat Surfaces - Birdhouse
- Ruler
- Pencil
- 2 screws
- Hammer
- Philips head screwdriver
- Electric drill
- Philips head attachment
- Compass (optional)
EditMounting on a Pole - Screw-on birdhouse
- diameter pole
- Metal auger
- If you're hanging a birdhouse on a metal pole, locate it at least away from any low-hanging branches, large rocks, or other objects that a crafty predator could leap from to gain access to the birdhouse.[17]
- If you're worried that some of your birdhouses may go unused because of their proximity to other birdhouses, try mounting them in locations where one birdhouse isn't visible from another.
EditReferences
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| How to Make Butter or Bulletproof® Style Coffee Posted: 12 Apr 2019 09:00 AM PDT You've probably seen butter or bulletproof-style coffee sold in upscale coffee shops. If you can get your hands on high-quality ingredients, it's easy to make this nutritious beverage at home. Brew a cup of black coffee and blend it with MCT (medium chain triglycerides) oil and grass-fed butter. This creates a drink that's creamy, filling, and energizing. EditIngredients EditOriginal Bulletproof-Style Coffee - of water
- 2 ½ heaping tablespoons (15 g) of ground coffee
- of MCT (medium chain triglycerides) oil or high-quality coconut oil
- 1 to 2 tablespoons (14 to 28 g) of unsalted organic, grass-fed butter
Makes 1 serving EditMaking Original Bulletproof-Style Coffee - Brew the ground coffee with the water. You can use your favorite brewing method, such as a French press, drip coffee machine, or pour over. For the best cup of coffee use 2 ½ heaping tablespoons (15 g) of ground coffee for of water.[1]
- If you'd like to keep the natural oils from the coffee instead of filtering them out, use the French press to brew the coffee.
- Pour the coffee into a blender along with MCT oil and butter. Once the coffee is brewed, pour it while it's hot into a blender. Add of MCT (medium chain triglycerides) oil and 1 to 2 tablespoons (14 to 28 g) of organic, grass-fed butter.[2]
- If you're just starting to drink bulletproof-style coffee, start with the lesser amounts of MCT oil and grass-fed butter. This can help you adjust to the taste and determine how the brew affects your body.
- Cover and blend the mixture for 20 to 30 seconds. Put the lid on the blender and turn it on to blend until the butter is dissolved. The coffee should now look creamy brown instead of black and there should be a layer of foam at the top.[3]
- It's important to blend the bulletproof-style coffee in order to completely incorporate the oil and butter. If you only stir the coffee, the fats will separate which will make the drink taste oily.
- Pour the bulletproof-style coffee into a mug. Remove the lid from the blender and slowly pour the hot mixture into a coffee mug. Sip the drink while it's still hot to enjoy the best texture.[4]
- If you have leftover bulletproof-style coffee, cover and refrigerate it for up to 1 day. Although you can drink it cold or hot, you should blend it again just before drinking to improve the texture.
EditTrying Variations - Use chai tea instead of coffee for a different flavor. If you don't like the flavor of coffee or want to consume less caffeine, make a cup of your favorite chai or herbal tea. For example, you could also use rooibos or green tea.[5]
- For a decadent drink, make a cup of hot cocoa and make it bulletproof-style by blending in the MCT oil and butter.
- Substitute coconut oil for the MCT oil. If you can't find MCT oil, use high-quality organic coconut oil. Although the MCT oil is usually included to make you feel more energized, coconut oil is easier to find and it contains beneficial fatty acids.[6]
- If you'd also like to substitute the grass-fed butter, use 1 to 2 teaspoons (3 to 6 g) of ghee instead of the butter.
- Add collagen to make a thicker drink. To get even more protein in the bulletproof-style coffee, put 1 to 2 tablespoons (7 to 14 g) of collagen powder in the blender with the other ingredients. Blend until the powder is dissolved.[7]
- Collagen is a good supplement for repairing damaged skin and keeping your joints healthy.
- Mix in mushroom powder for additional antioxidants. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons (2 to 4 g) of dried mushroom powder when you blend the bulletproof-style coffee. The antioxidants in the mushroom powder may improve your immune system and make you feel less fatigued.[8]
- Purchase high-quality mushroom supplements from local health food stores or vitamin supplement stores.
- Include cinnamon and salt for a spiced drink. If you enjoy flavored coffee, try blending in 1/4 of a teaspoon of pink salt and 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) of ground cinnamon. You can also try adding up to 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) of your favorite spices, such as:[9]
- Ground nutmeg
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Mixed spice
- Gingerbread spice
- If you don't have a blender, you can use an immersion blender. Keep in mind that the coffee may not have as creamy of a texture.
- If you are watching your cholesterol, limit the amount of bulletproof-style coffee you consume on a regular basis since it can significantly raise your cholesterol levels.[10]
- Always talk with your doctor before replacing a meal with bulletproof-style coffee. This beverage is not a replacement for a nutritious meal that's part of a balanced diet.
EditThings You'll Need - Measuring cups and spoons
- Coffee brewer
- Mug
- Blender
EditReferences EditQuick Summary
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